The firearms industry enjoyed record sales and growth during the Obama administration. Given the perceived threat the anti-gun Democrats posed to gun ownership, the firearms industry played on our paranoia to boost sales.

The AR-15 – thought at the time to be the firearm most apt to be banned – was boosted to “must have” status by the sporting press until it became the most popular “modern sporting firearm” on the planet.

Great. Then comes the rabidly pro-gun Donald Trump to the presidency, and what happens? Gun sales plummeted after The Donald was elected, primarily because firearm enthusiasts were no longer worried about increased regulation.

Remington Outdoor, founded in New York and now the world’s largest firearms company, won final court approval for its bankruptcy plans this week, paving the way for the company to slash debt, boost its cash position and better weather the uncertain climate for firearms in these United States.

Remington rifle cartridges are displayed at the 35th annual SHOT Show in Las Vegas. Jan. 15, 2013. U.S. gun maker Remington Outdoor Company has filed for bankruptcy protection after months of financial problems, falling sales and lawsuits tied to the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. (Photo: JULIE JACOBSON, AP)

When Remington filed for bankruptcy it already had a deal in hand to cut its debt by about $775 million, a little more than one month after a school shooting in Parkland, Florida.

In the face of this perceived adversity, Remington will now exit bankruptcy as soon as this month, with some of its creditors, including JPMorgan Chase & Co and Franklin Advisors, taking ownership stakes in the company in exchange for forgiving debt. Cerberus Capital Management L.P., Remington’s current private equity owner, will give up its equity in the restructuring.

Remington will emerge with a new Asset Based Loan facility of $193 million, the proceeds of which will refinance the existing ABL facility in full.

The company’s bankruptcy plan allows for lawsuits against it to continue, including one filed by the families of the victims of the Sandy Hook, Connecticut, school shooting. An AR-15 made by Bushmaster, a Remington partner under Cerebus, was used in the 2012 shooting.

New deer damage monitoring tool

Ecologists at Cornell and the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry have a new tool for evaluating and tracking local forest health. Of course the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation also has its hand in this new citizen science tool, called 'AVID,' for Assessing Vegetation Impacts from Deer.

Like virtually everything else in life, this monitoring tool will soon be available as a smartphone ap, whatever that means.

What spurs the whole idea is that the state feels that an overabundance of deer are threatening the integrity of forests, and landowners can help monitor their impact. The information generated from the AVID tool, we are told, will provide a good indicator of whether the number of deer is in balance with the available habitat, if that balance is changing over time and guide future management changes that may be needed to ensure a proper balance is maintained.

Specifically, AVID focuses research and monitoring efforts on wildflower and tree species eaten by deer in New York and includes laying out monitoring plots in forested areas. Within these plots, individual plants of the focal species are counted, marked, and measured. Measuring these same plants each year will show whether browsing pressure from deer is changing over time and is expected to provide critical information for DEC biologists to guide deer management decisions.

Additional information and data entry forms for the tool are available at aviddeer.com.

The AVID method is designed to be useful for people who aren't plant experts. The website includes detailed instructions and plant identification guides. A smartphone app will also be released soon and allow these online resources to be carried into the field and provide a platform for data collection.

Cornell Cooperative Extension is offering training classes across the state. Participants will learn to identify important spring wildflower species and tree seedlings, recognize evidence of deer impacts based on the presence or absence of key indicator species, and document changes in forest plants on their own land or land in their communities.

Data can be entered online at aviddeer.com after users have registered, or paper data sheets can be mailed to Cornell.

Those interested in learning more, receiving information about upcoming training sessions, or becoming a volunteer, are encouraged to contact Kristi Sullivan at kls20@cornell.edu.

Additional information and data entry forms for the tool are available at aviddeer.com.

NRA self-defense insurance deemed illegal

Insurance administrator Lockton Cos. and an affiliate were fined $7 million by New York’s Department of Financial Services and will no longer participate in the NRA’s “Carry Guard” program in the state.

The company announced after the Parkland, Florida, school shooting in February that it would stop providing brokerage services for all NRA-endorsed insurance programs.

The group advertises Carry Guard as the nation’s “most complete self-defense membership program” on its website, referring to Lockton’s plan as “comprehensive personal firearms liability insurance.”

Regulators said the insurance unlawfully offered protection for certain acts of intentional wrongdoing and improperly provided coverage for acts of self defense. Gun control advocates have criticized the program, referring to it as “murder insurance.”

The feds determined that Lockton issued 680 Carry Guard policies to New York residents between April and November of last year. Between 2000 and March 2018, Lockton and the NRA offered at least 11 other insurance programs. The company collected $12 million in premiums and $785,460 in administrative fees related to these programs during that time.

The DFS found that the program was actively advertised in New York by the NRA both online and through traditional mail. The firearms lobby doesn’t have a license to conduct insurance business in New York, according to the DFS, which oversees insurers and banks chartered in the state.

Hornady, Springfield protest

Hornady has announced it will no longer sell its ammunition to New York government agencies, citing the state’s anti-gun tactics as the reason for the shift in company policy.

In April Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered the state Department of Financial Services to “urge” New York-based banks, insurers and other financial institutions to “review” their relationships with the NRA and “other similar organizations.” Said banks and insurers would then be “encouraged” to think about whether or not “such ties harm their corporate reputations and jeopardize public safety.”

The New York Post reported that State Comptroller Thomas J. DiNapoli recently sent letters to nine different financial institutions, encouraging them to devise “a system that could reject the purchases” of guns, ammunition and accessories. The letters went out to MasterCard, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Discover, American Express, First Data, and Worldpay. DiNapoli is also the head of the New York state pension, which has an estimated $209.1 billion in assets. It also happens to have a stake in all nine of the aforementioned companies.

Viewing all this as an assault on its business and livelihood, Hornady confirmed via Facebook that its ammo will no longer be available to New York agencies. Steve Hornady, the company’s founder and president, and an NRA director, deemed the state’s actions as “a blatant and disgusting abuse of office.” Meanwhile, Springfield Armory announced that it is severing ties with Dick’s Sporting Goods and its subsidiary, Field & Stream, in response to their hiring a group for anti-Second Amendment lobbying. This latest action follows Dick’s Sporting Goods’ decision to remove and destroy all modern sporting rifles (AR-15s) from their inventory and to not sell firearms to anyone younger than 21.

Smileys pace Portzline Trap

Homer’s C.J. and Jim Smiley each broke all 50 trap birds and six other shooters broke 49 on the Groton Rod & Gun Club fields on Sunday to lead the scoring in the fifth week of the Jay Portzline League.

Jeff Lucas of Tompkins County Fish & Game broke 49 skeet birds to lead that category at Groton but teammate Ron Spada broke 48 (and 45 in trap) to maintain his lead in the overall standings. Spada leads teammates Bob Hutchings and Tony Johnson by five and eight birds, respectively in the overall standings heading into this week’s session on their home fields.

Jim Smiley leads the Veterans (65 and older) trap standings by 17 birds with two weeks left in the league. Ralph Pittman of McGraw is runnerup in veterans trap, tied with Groton’s Dan Card, and leads the veterans skeet standings by two birds.

Henderson’s outdoors columns appear in the Press & Sun-Bulletin and Ithaca Journal on Thursdays. If you have a comment or data pertinent to the columns, send it directly to Henderson Outdoors, 202 Prospect Street, Endicott NY 13760 or e-mail it to dddhender@aol.com.